Tom Kunz may have put it best when he compared the Fargo Boat Show to shopping for winter clothes in the summer.
"Buying boats in January is like buying a mink coat in July," said Kunz, the store manager at Crystal-Pierz Marine in Rogers, Minn.
As strange as it may sound, Kunz is dead on.
About 15 boat dealers filled the Fargodome floor Friday for the annual Fargo Boat & Marine Products Show.
Each boasts manufacturer deals and rebates on several boats, both expensive and affordable.
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The most expensive boat at the show is one of the first you see near the main entrance of the Fargodome.
Outside of the WakeWater Sports booth in the lobby is the super-sleek 2006 SuperAir Nautique 220 Team Edition wakeboat, which retails for about $73,000.
"The construction of this thing is what really sets it off," said Mark Hensley, the owner of WakeWater Sports in Glyndon, Minn.
The Nautique has a 375-horsepower engine and is hard to miss with its flashy orange paint job and silver accent.
"It also happens to be a boat that's not really easy to get this year," Hensley said.
Ryan Thielke, sales manager at McLaughlin's RV & Marine in Fargo, said factory rebates and warranties, as well as special interest rates, keep people coming back to the show.
"Its definitely an incentive to buy during the boat show," he said.
Thielke said McLaughlin's most expensive boats at the show are the 2006 Wakemaster X-I wakeboat, priced at about $46,000, marked down from $54,350.
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The 2006 Premier 250 Grand Majestic pontoon is also an attention grabber.
"It's basically like sitting in your home," Thielke said.
The pontoon is priced at about $42,000, down from nearly $47,000.
Crystal-Pierz Marine has a 2006 Ranger 620 VS fishing boat regularily priced at about $58,000. However, it's selling for about $8,000 less than its retail price at the boat show.
"A boat is a really good investment," Kunz said. "And it makes a lot more sense to buy a new one than a used one if you don't pay retail on it."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Dustin Monke at (701) 241-5504
